THE DISAPPEARANCES

Author's Note: I am sorry I haven't updated for quite some time now, but my laptop computer crashed, so I had no Internet access! L Thank you for continuing to read this story… enjoy! ~*~QTMadeline87~*~

Voldemort was dead… or so Harry thought. He heard Hermione's muffled cry of fright from behind him. Harry turned and looked at Hermione, then back at Voldemort. Wormtail was hovering over his fallen master saying, "Oh, Master, Master! What has he done to you…" Then, Wormtail whipped out his wand. "I shall do what my master could not!"

Harry already had his wand out. "Petrificus Totalus!" he exclaimed, and Wormtail stood immobile, falling over like a log. Harry walked cautiously over to Voldemort and leaned down. He poked the wizard hesitantly with his wand, and listened. The softest breathing, slow and raspy, could be heard. Voldemort's eyelids began to flutter.

Voldemort was still alive.

Panicking, Harry whipped back at the bound Hermione and Neville. He magicked their bindings and cords away from them. The other two students took out their wands.

"On my count, the Adava spell." Harry tried to sound calm. Hermione pursed her lips but nodded. Neville looked white and faint. "Three…" Harry took a step towards Voldemort, "Two…" He prayed that the three death spells hitting the already broken Voldemort would finish him off. Harry took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and, "One… Adava Kedavra!" the flashes of light were blinding.

After some time, Harry opened his eyes again. Hermione stood just behind him, looking genuinely shaken, and Neville looked as though he could faint at any given time.

"Harry, is he…" Hermione nodded towards Voldemort.

Harry took another step closer to Voldemort. Voldemort's eyes were open this time, and a look of horror was locked onto his face. Harry knew Voldemort was dead. There was no breathing. There was nothing.

Voldemort was really dead. Harry couldn't get over the shock. Hermione was the first to return to her senses.

"Harry… I'm going to get Professor Dumbledore." Hermione said, turning away. She stopped dead in her tracks. "How are we supposed to get out of here?" The door was nowhere in sight. Hermione shook her head, thinking hard. Her eyes lit up at last. "We came from that way!" She pointed. "And I've an idea. I don't want to touch Voldemort, and I'm sure neither of you want to, either." She directed her want at Voldemort and recited, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Voldemort's body rose into the air. Hermione used her want to guide the floating cadaver in front of her. The three merely left Wormtail where he was, cursed by the Petrificus hex. All the way down the Road to Nowhere, Hermione led the corpse. Neville was completely silent, but Hermione couldn't stop talking.

"Harry, do you think that's the end? Of the Road to Nowhere, I mean? You'll have to check your book. I wonder what all of this means, Voldemort dead… I simply don't know what to think… I'm thinking so much at once, and… and…" Hermione's voice was high-pitched, squeaky, and uncharacteristically rapid, "I'm… afraid. I'm frightened, Harry. What's going to happen?"

Harry gulped, shook his head, and shrugged. Soon, the door came into view. Harry opened the door with an Alohomora spell and peered out into the hallway. "They must all be at dinner." He said thoughtfully, "No one's there!"

The three children continued through the hallways until they reached the Great Hall. Sure enough, the Hogwart's student body was dining. Hermione kept Voldemort's body afloat, and Neville stayed by her side. Harry entered the Great Hall, among stares, pointing, and whispering, and approached the staff table.

"Professor Dumbledore." Harry pronounced.

"Harry! Where were you? I was beginning to worry a bit." Professor Dumbledore sounded eerily calm.

"Professor…" Harry bit his lip, leaned down close to Dumbledore and whispered, "We've got Voldemort."

Dumbledore made no sudden movements or did anything out of the ordinary, but his eyes flashed with shock. He cleared his throat, rose, and followed Harry to the corridor outside the Great Hall, where Neville stood sobbing loudly beside Hermione.

"Mr. Longbottom, Miss Granger…" Dumbledore acknowledged the other two people present. His eyes flashed again as he looked at Voldemort. Dumbledore examined the body closely. "Indeed…" he said quietly. "Harry… you three have performed the Adava Kedavra curse." Harry's heart sunk. They had killed the most hated wizard of the time, and they were going to go to Azkaban anyway!

But Dumbledore didn't seem angry. He seemed proud. "Do you three know how much valor, courage, talent, and… well… power it takes to cast such a spell?" Harry turned pink. Hermione cleared her throat. Neville's crying quieted a bit. "Please proceed to the Hospital Wing. I shall send Miss Lecour and Mr. Weasley in to see you. You will spend the night there. The four of us shall discuss the situation in the morning, when the teachers have all been notified."

Harry was amazed at Dumbledore's composure. He and Hermione walked in silence, followed closely by Neville, through the school.

"Wait!" Harry exclaimed, "I want to get my book." He headed up the staircase to the Gryffindor boys' dormitories. Hermione waited wordlessly where she was, and Neville followed Harry, still sniffling a bit.

"I was telling Hermione, Harry, that I don't remember any of it. I know I just noticed that the door was there, and I'd never seen it before. I thought maybe I just forgot what it was. So I opened it up to see, and I don't remember anything after that until… well, you know." Neville spoke almost in a whisper, though the two boys were alone.

Harry retrieved his book and continued on to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was waiting for them when they arrived. She, too, was silent. She simply put her arm around the still very upset Neville's shoulder and led him to a bed, gesturing to the other two to occupy a free bed.

When Madam Pomfrey had left, Harry opened his book again. He tried to link all of the clues together, but they didn't all make sense. The next blank page was covered not with a clue, or a picture at all, but a little verse.

Be not so speedy to assume

That you've escaped death or doom

Leave me not, you must return

For you've some lessons left to learn.

Harry showed Hermione the poem. Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Well…" she whispered, "I suppose you'd better keep up with it then, eh?"

Just then, the hospital wing door flew open. Ron came running in, followed closely by Madeline.

"What happened? Are you three all right?"

"Oh, 'Airmione! 'Arry! I sought for shore you were dead! Oh, oh! I am so glad you are alive!" Madeline and Ron both seemed very pale indeed.

"It was terrible!" Harry, Hermione, and Neville explained the whole story to Madeline and Ron.

"Y-you… killed… You-Know-Who?! He's dead?! " Ron sounded amazed, disbelieving, and frightened all at the same time.

"You-Know-'Oo… dead… oh my, oh my!" For some odd reason, Harry sensed a bit of panic in Madeline's voice. She said something in French to herself that Harry didn't understand.

After a good while, Madam Pomfrey returned and ordered Ron and Madeline to leave Harry, Hermione, and Neville to sleep. Harry couldn't fall asleep, though. He was still in shock.

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The next morning, Harry awoke dazed and confused. It occurred to him after about 10 minutes of attempting to tie his shoes that he had forgotten to put on his glasses, which he promptly applied upside-down. Harry's mind was racing. Voldemort… dead.

Harry, Hermione, and Neville were late to breakfast. When they entered cheers and clapping rang from every corner of the Great Hall. Everyone was grinning. Could Dumbledore have told the student body of Voldemort's demise?

Harry went to sit down. He noticed that half of the people at the Slytherin table, including Draco Malfoy were scowling terribly at him.

"This'll be in the Daily Prophet tomorrow!"

"There'll be parties!"

"Well done, Harry, Hermione, Neville!"

"Knew someday you'd get the best of him, Harry!"

"Oh, we're just so proud."

"Three Gryffindors!"

Harry was completely oblivious to anything anyone was saying, although he must have received fifty pats on the back. He saw Hermione doing the same thing he was… nodding and smiling.

Harry soon realized that not everyone was joyous at the news of Voldemort's death. In Snape's class, everything proceeded as normal, except for one thing. Neville was so happy about his newfound fame and glory that he added too much Essence of Edellpud to his cauldron, which overflowed in an acidic puddle. Snape merely flicked his wand to clean up the mess, but said nothing. Usually, Snape picked on Neville terribly.

Everywhere else, things were different. Harry, Hermione, and Neville received a round of applause in every class but potions. Classes with Slytherins were riddled with looks of hatred.

Harry was still in such a daze; he hardly knew what was going on.

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Sure enough, the next day, the entire wizarding community was celebrating. The entire issue of the Daily Prophet consisted of the story of Voldemort's death. The Headline on the first page read:

VOLDEMORT IS DEAD!

The second page read:

POTTER, GRANGER, and LONGBOTTOM: OUR HEROES

The House-Elves had even prepared a special cake for Harry, Hermione, and Neville (which was generously shared with the entire Gryffindor table) that said, "THANK YOU" in large letters. The Hogwart's crest was intricately placed on the top of the sheet cake in icing.

After a few weeks, the owl post came again. There was an unusual amount of mail for the entire school. Some people received letters from their parents, making sure that they hadn't been injured at any point. Harry, Hermione, and Neville got tons of fan mail each, though Harry had the bulk of it. Harry saw large tawny owls dropping black envelopes to some of the Slytherin students, including Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

After about 10 seconds, Harry started to hear the crying from the Slytherin table. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, each sobbing, got up and left the table.

"Wonder what's the matter?" Ron wondered, his mouth full of sausages. Harry, wondering the same thing, got up and walked over to the Slytherin table.

"Hullo." Some people chorused mournfully.

"Hullo…" Harry responded, gently picking up Malfoy's black envelope. No one seemed to care that he was reading someone else's mail, because they were all very absorbed in their own letters, or those of their friends.

The black envelope contained a letter written on black parchment. The ink was silver. The letter read:

"Dear Mr. Draco Malfoy,

We are very sorry to report that your parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lucius Malfoy, were found dead at their residence under mysterious circumstances last night. If the Ministry can assist you in any way during this tragic time, do not hesitate to ask.

Sincerely,

Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic."

Malfoy's parents? Dead? "D-do they all say this?" Harry asked Pansy Parkinson, who nodded sadly.

"All of us who have parents who - well…"

Harry nodded solemnly and returned slowly to the Gryffindor table. He told Hermione, Ron, and Madeline what the letter said.

"It's the Death Eaters. They're all dead…" Harry's voice failed him. "It seems… it seems we've crippled the Dark Arts."